Roundabout 1963: A Year in Colour

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antnield
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:59 pm
Location: Cheltenham, England

Roundabout 1963: A Year in Colour

#1 Post by antnield » Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:29 am

March 25th
In the 1960s the UK Government, through the Central Office of Information (COI), produced a number of films for overseas distribution. Essentially designed to promote British industry and values abroad, Roundabout was one of the most popular of these cine-magazines, with its selection of topical stories for the Asian market.

The BFI has collected all the Roundabout films, preserved in the Archive, from 1963 to produce a unique and fascinating glimpse back to Britain and it's place in the world 50 years ago. Consisting of over 30 films, highlights include a visit to the Royal Mint, a trip around a British Doll factory and a look at modern architecture in London, Djakarta and Saigon.

UK | colour | DVD9 | colour | English language | Region 0 | 110 mins | 1.33:1

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teddyleevin
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Re: Roundabout 1963: A Year in Colour

#2 Post by teddyleevin » Tue Feb 12, 2013 4:43 am

This looks neat. Product description says Region 0 but the Product details says Region 2. A bit of a disputed call, I'm afraid...

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MichaelB
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Re: Roundabout 1963: A Year in Colour

#3 Post by MichaelB » Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:03 am

I'd be amazed if it was region-locked - I can't think of any contractual reason for it to be, as the BFI notionally owns all this stuff outright.

My educated and precedent-backed guess is that the BFI press release is correct and that Amazon is moronically labelling it Region 2 because it's a UK release, not because it's actually been region-locked. But my own copy should turn up ahead of the release date, so I'll confirm for certain when it does.

(Obviously, it will be PAL video, so may still not play correctly on non-European systems - though any PC or Mac should be able to handle it).

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MichaelB
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Re: Roundabout 1963: A Year in Colour

#4 Post by MichaelB » Wed Feb 13, 2013 12:35 pm

Full specs announced:
Roundabout: 1963
A Year in Colour

Roundabout: 1963 - A Year in Colour, released on 25 March 2013, is the first in a new series of previously unreleased 'cine-magazine' films from exactly 50 years ago, making an ideal gift for anyone celebrating a 50th birthday or anniversary this year.

In the 1960s, the British Government, through the Central Office of Information (COl), produced a range of topical films about Britain for distribution throughout the commonwealth. Roundabout was one of the most popular of these cine-magazines.

The BFI has collected together all the episodes of Roundabout produced during 1963 enabling viewers to travel back in time to see Britain and its place in the world - in particular its manufacturing partnerships with Commonwealth counties - 50 years ago.

Designed to promote British industry and values abroad, Roundabout's colourful selection of topical stories-each episode featured three or four different subjects-was particularly aimed at the Asian market. To show the connections between the Commonwealth countries and Britain, many of the films illustrate how raw materials from one country, such as rubber, palm kernels, wood or cocoa, were used in manufacturing industries in the UK.

Highlights amongst the 11 globe-trotting films on this disc include a visit to the Royal Mint, trips around factories making the Mini car, cigarettes, sweets and books; a tour of a rubber tree plantation in South East Asia and a look at modem architecture in London, Djakarta and Saigon. There is a story on the then new activity of skin diving, the versatile British jet boat and the building of a new stand for racing at Ascot.

This set also includes an illustrated booklet with film notes and an essay about cine­ magazines written by expert Linda Kaye of the British Universities Film and Video Council.

All the films in the Roundabout series are now preserved in the BFI National Archive.

Product details
RRP: £19.99 I cat. no. BFIVD985 I Cert E
UK I 1963 I colour I English language I 110 mins I Original aspect ratio 1.33:1 I DVD9 I
PAL I Dolby Digital mono audio (320 kbps)

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antnield
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:59 pm
Location: Cheltenham, England

Re: Roundabout 1963: A Year in Colour

#5 Post by antnield » Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:51 am


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